Google is coming to the foldable market late — although not as late as Apple, which doesn’t have a foldable yet — but it’s taking advantage of its timing by targeting some of the perceived deficiencies of the Galaxy Fold.
Google has begun taking pre-orders for its first foldable phone with an eye toward shipping the gadget in June.
The Pixel Fold will sell for US$1,799, the same price as its chief competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4.
Google is coming to the foldable market late — although not as late as Apple, which doesn’t have a foldable yet — but it’s taking advantage of its timing by targeting some of the perceived deficiencies of the Galaxy Fold.
Google’s folding phone, for example, is thinner and has a wider body for easier handling. The wider body also allows for a better aspect ratio for viewing its front and interior OLED displays.
“The Pixel stands out by having a wider aspect ratio. That is ideal for content consumption,” observed Brad Akyuz, a mobile industry analyst with Circana, a global market research firm.
“The Samsung Fold has more of a square screen, so you get black bars when you’re watching content on it,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“When closed, the Pixel matches the dimensions of a regular phone with the benefit of the fold,” added Bob O’Donnell, founder and chief analyst with Technalysis Research, a technology market research and consulting firm.
“The Samsung is a little taller and skinnier,” he told TechNewsWorld.First Gen Blues?
At the heart of the Pixel Fold is the Google Tensor G2 processor, which Akyuz asserts isn’t as powerful as the chip used in its competition. “The Galaxy Fold runs on the market’s top-of-the-line silicon,” he said. “The Pixel Fold uses its own chipset, which is not on par with what Samsung uses.”
In the past, he noted, Pixel phones have had issues with their silicon. “We don’t know that’s going to happen with the Pixel Fold, but I’d say there’s greater peace of mind on the Galaxy Fold side,” he added.
He also pointed out that the Pixel Fold is a first-generation device.
